How Mass Affects The Rate of Acceleration and Momentum When Rolling Down A Ramp and Then falling Onto the Floor
Christian Roughtun, Ari Allen
Introduction
Introduction: In the early 1600's we learn from Galileo that two bodies of mass that are the same size but different masses fall at the same rate. We decided to test how rolling a ball down an incline will affect how fast it takes the ball to fall to the ground. Since the balls were the same sizes, we knew they would fall at the same rate from the end of the rack so we tested how adding the acceleration from the ball with a smaller mass and a ball with a larger mass rolling down a ramp would affect the time it took to get from the top of a ramp to the floor. We hypothesize that the ball with the larger mass will hit the ground faster because it will acquire more momentum rolling down the ramp thus falling quicker. The ball with the smaller mass, we think, will accelerate quicker but spend more time falling because it has a weaker momentum.
Procedure
Procedure: For this experiment, we used a golf ball for the ball with a larger mass and a ping pong ball for a ball with a smaller mass. For the incline we used a metal ramp propped up 6 inches by books. The ramp was a meter long. In order to time the time it took for the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the bottom, we used stop-watches. We started the balls a meter above the end of the ramp and let go, starting the time. We stopped the time when the ball falls off the ramp and makes contact with the ground. We repeated this 24 more times for each ball. As an additional experiment, we tested the time it took for the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the end (this would explain which ball accelerates at a faster rate)
Results
Results are in Number of Seconds it Took for the Ball to Get From the top of the Ramp to the Floor
Ping Pong Ball Golf Ball
Trial Ping Golf
1st
2.28
2.13
2nd
2.15
1.94
3rd
2.25
1.97
4th
2.19
1.93
5th
2.37
1.97
6th
2.22
1.9
7th
2.28
1.97
8th
2.35
1.94
9th
2.38
1.91
10th
2.28
2
11th
2.28
2
12th
2.34
1.94
13th
2.34
1.93
14th
2.31
2
15th
2.16
2.03
16th
2.16
1.97
17th
2.34
2
18th
2.31
1.97
19th
2.25
1.93
20th
2.32
1.96
21st
2.04
1.97
22nd
2.28
2
23rd
2.35
2
24th
2.32
1.97
25th
2.4
1.9
Average
2.274
1.9292
P= 1.004782*e^-11
X1=2.274
X2=1.9292
This data represents the time it took the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the bottom of the ramp. (not the floor)Trial Ping Golf
1st
1.93
1.59
2nd
1.93
1.59
3rd
2
1.62
4th
2
1.59
5th
2.03
1.62
Average
1.978
1.602
p=1.1066318*e^-5x1=1.978x2=1.602
We are very satisfied by the data because of the extremely low p value. According to the p value the difference between the two sets of data is significant enough to form a conclusion.
Conclusions
Conclusion: As we hypothesized, the golf ball hit the ground at a faster time then the ping pong ball. We believe this is because it acquires more momentum rolling down the ramp so it can spend less time in the air. The ping pong ball however was lighter. It accelerated quicker at first, but about halfway down the ramp, the golf-ball's stronger momentum caught up with the ping pong ball. We get these hypothesis’s from the data we collected where we tested the time it took for the ball to solely roll down the ramp. If we were to fix this experiment, we would find to balls that were of a more similar texture to better avoid air-resistance and other forces. Also, we would better study when the golf balls momentum catches up with the ping pong ball's momentum.
References: This Site Tells Us the Year Galileo Preformed His Experiment.
Table of Contents
How Mass Affects The Rate of Acceleration and Momentum When Rolling Down A Ramp and Then falling Onto the Floor
Christian Roughtun, Ari Allen
Introduction
Introduction: In the early 1600's we learn from Galileo that two bodies of mass that are the same size but different masses fall at the same rate. We decided to test how rolling a ball down an incline will affect how fast it takes the ball to fall to the ground. Since the balls were the same sizes, we knew they would fall at the same rate from the end of the rack so we tested how adding the acceleration from the ball with a smaller mass and a ball with a larger mass rolling down a ramp would affect the time it took to get from the top of a ramp to the floor. We hypothesize that the ball with the larger mass will hit the ground faster because it will acquire more momentum rolling down the ramp thus falling quicker. The ball with the smaller mass, we think, will accelerate quicker but spend more time falling because it has a weaker momentum.Procedure
Procedure: For this experiment, we used a golf ball for the ball with a larger mass and a ping pong ball for a ball with a smaller mass. For the incline we used a metal ramp propped up 6 inches by books. The ramp was a meter long. In order to time the time it took for the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the bottom, we used stop-watches. We started the balls a meter above the end of the ramp and let go, starting the time. We stopped the time when the ball falls off the ramp and makes contact with the ground. We repeated this 24 more times for each ball. As an additional experiment, we tested the time it took for the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the end (this would explain which ball accelerates at a faster rate)
Results
Results are in Number of Seconds it Took for the Ball to Get From the top of the Ramp to the Floor
Ping Pong Ball Golf BallTrial Ping Golf
X1=2.274
X2=1.9292
This data represents the time it took the balls to get from the top of the ramp to the bottom of the ramp. (not the floor)Trial Ping Golf
We are very satisfied by the data because of the extremely low p value. According to the p value the difference between the two sets of data is significant enough to form a conclusion.
Conclusions
Conclusion: As we hypothesized, the golf ball hit the ground at a faster time then the ping pong ball. We believe this is because it acquires more momentum rolling down the ramp so it can spend less time in the air. The ping pong ball however was lighter. It accelerated quicker at first, but about halfway down the ramp, the golf-ball's stronger momentum caught up with the ping pong ball. We get these hypothesis’s from the data we collected where we tested the time it took for the ball to solely roll down the ramp. If we were to fix this experiment, we would find to balls that were of a more similar texture to better avoid air-resistance and other forces. Also, we would better study when the golf balls momentum catches up with the ping pong ball's momentum.
References: This Site Tells Us the Year Galileo Preformed His Experiment.
http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/galileofallingbodies.html